The Israeli military has blamed a “technical error” for a deadly airstrike in central Gaza that killed 10 Palestinians, including six children, and injured at least 17 others.
According to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the missile was intended for a member of the Islamic Jihad group but instead struck a nearby water collection point in the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The military said the missile fell “dozens of metres from the target,” resulting in unintended civilian casualties.
“This incident is under review,” the IDF said in a statement, adding that it “regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians” and that it works to avoid such outcomes wherever possible.
Sky News reports that footage and eyewitness accounts from the scene described chaos as families, including many children, were gathered at the water point.
Ramadan Nassar, a local resident, said around 20 children and 14 adults were queuing for water when the strike occurred, sending people fleeing in panic.
Doctors at Al Awda Hospital confirmed receiving the bodies of 10 people, six of them children, and treating 17 others wounded in the blast. Blood-stained containers and the remains of personal belongings could be seen scattered across the site.
The Nuseirat strike was one of multiple deadly incidents reported in Gaza on Sunday. Local health officials said 19 people were killed across the territory, including nine in a separate airstrike on a home in Zawaida, where two women and three children died.
The IDF said it had hit more than 150 targets in Gaza over the past 24 hours as part of its ongoing military operations.
A day earlier, Israeli forces reportedly opened fire near an aid distribution centre in Rafah.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said 31 people were killed. The IDF claimed it had fired only “warning shots” and was “not aware of injured individuals” resulting from the action.
The ongoing war in Gaza began after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, which killed around 1,200 people and saw 250 others taken hostage.
Since then, Gaza’s health ministry says more than 58,000 Palestinians have been killed, over half of them women and children. The ministry’s figures do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
